text: Tissue engineering is a relatively new field that utilizes a scaffolding as a platform upon which the desired cells proliferate.  It is not clear what defines an ideal scaffold for a specific tissue type.  The considerations are complex and protein adsorption only adds to the complexity.  Although architecture, structural mechanics, and surface properties play a key role, understanding degradation and rate of protein adsorption are also key.  In addition to the essentials of mechanics and geometry, a suitable scaffold construct will possess surface properties that are optimized for the attachment and migration of the cell types of particular interest.
  Generally, it has been found that scaffolds that closely resemble the natural environments of the tissue being engineered are the most successful.  As a result, much research has gone into investigating natural polymers that can be tailored, through processing methodology, toward specific design criteria.  Chitosan is currently one of the most widely used polymers as it is very similar to naturally occurring glycosaminoglycan (GAGs) and it is degradable by human enzymes.